“But you got to balance it. You do belong to the public, ultimately.”

Mayors of New York have long considered themselves the city’s cheerleaders in chief, making frequent appearances at its major institutions and promoting the world-class cultural offerings and only-in-New-York attractions that lure millions of tourists from around the world — and persuade New Yorkers that it’s worth putting up with tiny apartments and high rents just for a chance to live nearby.

Mr. de Blasio, by contrast, is more of a homebody who is protective of his privacy and prefers to spend downtime in his old Brooklyn neighborhood rather than out on the town. Uncomfortable in Gracie Mansion — he often refers to the mayoral residence as a “hotel,” and has complained to aides about feeling out of place in its halls — he can frequently be found in Park Slope, exercising at his old gym and sipping cappuccinos at a beloved cafe.

[...]

Mr. Giuliani, in an interview, said that he could appreciate the pressures facing Mr. de Blasio, and that the mayor should not be faulted for taking time to relax in his old haunts, rather than hobnobbing around town. “It makes a lot of sense to me,” Mr. Giuliani said. “Hey, Mayor Koch used to love to go down to the Village, because that was his old neighborhood.”

Still, Mr. Giuliani, who was speaking from Warsaw, where he was traveling on business, said a mayor’s presence at major attractions could be important. “People here in Poland may see a picture of the mayor in Central Park, and that makes them want to come to New York,” he said.

“Even though he and I disagree philosophically, I have great empathy for the difficulty of his job,” Mr. Giuliani said. “But you got to balance it. You do belong to the public, ultimately.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/nyregion/the-mayor-does-the-town-his-way.html